'The Glory of the Divine Name' - Kanchi Mahaswami

His Holiness Sri Chandrasekarendra Saraswati Swamigal was the 68th Pontiff of the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam. One of the most glorified saints the history has ever witnessed, He was a Realized Soul. Humility and simplicity were hallmarks of this great Avatara Purusha. Lovingly called as 'Maha Periyava' or 'Paramacharya', the Mahaswami ascended the Peetam in 1907 at the age of 13. Intensively educated in all the Vedas and Shastras, He was multi-lingual too. Throughout the century that He was in his mortal form, gracing the world, He traveled the length and breadth of the country by foot spreading the fragrance of Sanathana Dharma and the glory of the Vedas. A unique collection of His various lectures and discourses is compiled into volumes of literature entitled 'Deivathin Kural' ('The Voice of the Lord'). The article below is a small excerpt from the first part of these set of books. This goes to show how Maha Periyava extolled the power of the Divine Name.

'The Glory of the Divine Name' Like dhyana, japa, puja, yajna and pilgrimage, the practice of getting together to sing the Divine Name of the Lord is a long standing practice in our country. Singing the Divine Name of the Lord is being practiced in our country since ancient times, as a great means for the ‘jivAtma’ [the ordinary soul] to commune with the ‘ParamAtma’ [the Lord]. The existence of rich tradition of Bhajan [Nama Sankirtan] in our country can be deduced from the fact that almost in every Village and Town a Bhajan mutt/hall has been established. Every Saturday and on every Ekadasi people would get together in this Bhajan mutt/hall and do Bhajan [Nama Sankirtan], i.e. sing the Divine Names of the Lord. In temples, we watch the performance of puja; we meditate on the Deity; whereas, in Bhajan we fix our mind on the Lord by singing His Divine Names, His ‘gunas’ [dispositions] and His Lilas [Divine Plays]. Bhajan has the unique feature of doing Bhakti involving the whole community. Even though the Hindu Religion is predominantly structured on individual basis [i.e. every individual should attain the Self and thus bring about the welfare of humanity] there is also congregational worship as in Temples, Utsavs and Bhajans. Melodious Bhajan with musical accompaniments easily draws all minds and hearts to the Lord. The thought of the Lord is easily brought up by melodiously singing simple words like ‘Raghupati Raghava Raja Ram!’, ‘Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare!’ and so on. Apart from performing Bhajan in a Bhajan hall there has also been the practice of ‘Nagara Sankirtan’. On auspicious days like Ekadasi people go on the streets singing the Divine Name of the Lord. This is called ‘Nagara Sankirtan’. The Divine Name is spread in this manner especially in the Tamizh month of ‘MArgazhi’ [mid-December to mid-January]. During this month, every day, people wake up very early and go on the streets singing the Divine Names. This good habit [of singing the Divine Names of the Lord] should revive and spread. The Bhajan mutts in Villages should not be allowed to go empty of the Divine Names of the Lord. It makes me happy to find rejuvenation of Bhajan tradition in recent times. Even in this day whence our Vedas, Aagamas, scriptural injunctions [‘AchAra’], etc. have almost disappeared, the only phase of our Religion that has not died out but is growing day by day is ‘Rama Bhajan’. Today, the only Satsang for our Religion in every village or town is the Nama Sankirtan groups. One feels happy about this. As Bhakti for the Lord spreads, performance of Bhagavan Nama Kirtan and singing the Lord’s ‘gunas’ [qualities] have occupied the prime position. Sri BhagavanNama Bodendra Swamigal says, “The ever-blissful Supreme Lord, out of sheer compassion, and towards the welfare of the world, took up forms such as Sri Vishnu, Sri Siva, etc. Feeling that these Forms alone will not suffice for redemption of the world He also became the Divine Names such as ‘Hari!’ ‘Siva!’ and is ever alive in these Names.” That is, the Divine Names are not mere names. Like the Deities they are also verily the Lord. ‘Nama’ possesses all the powers of the Lord. By singing the Kirtans that have been born out of the lips of those holy souls who have attained God-Realization through Nama Sankirtan, sins [‘pApa’] are eradicated and merits [‘punya’] earned. The kirtans of Jayadev, Narayana Thirtha, Ramadasa, Purandara dasa, Sri Thiagaraja, Sadasiva Brahmendra, Tamizh kirtans, Hindi and Maratti Bhakti kirtans are sung in the Sampradaya Bhajan [traditional way of performing Bhajan] set by Sri Marudaanallur Sadguru Swamigal. Bhajans are conducted as big festivals with Dolotsav, Kottanotsav, Vasanta keli, etc. These are not difficult but easy sadhanas to fix the thoughts of the Lord in the mind, by dancing and singing blissfully. ShAstras like Srimad Bhagavatam themselves say that Nama Sankirtan is the only way to Liberation [‘Moksha upAya’] in this Age of Kali whence there is not the requisite strength and favourable circumstances for practicing difficult Sadhanas – ‘kalau sankirtya Kesavam’. Apart from people coming together to do Bhajan, every family should get together at home, every evening, and do Nama Sankirtan for at least ten minutes. This entails no obstacle of any kind. All the members of the family should gather in the puja room and, in a home which has no separate puja room light an oil lamp and sitting in front of the lamp, sing kirtans. They must sing the Divine Names [‘Namaavalis’]. In addition to the prescribed daily routine prayers, one should also perform Bhajan. One need not feel self-conscious or shy about singing the Divine Names of the Lord. Does embarrassment have any place in uttering the Name of the Lord who is the very form of compassion? The only criterion for the performance of Nama Sankirtan is the feeling of devotion [‘Bhakti bhavana’] and not deep knowledge of music, raga bhava and melodious voice. Does not a child who is busy playing some sports and games, on suddenly remembering the mother, rush to her crying out, ‘oh, Amma, Amma’? There is neither embarrassment nor musical splendor in it. Likewise, even amidst our worldly businesses, we should think of the Universal Mother, God, for at least a few minutes and cry out ‘Rama! Krishna! Siva! Amba!’ This is a very healthy habit. It is a treasure that is capable of swelling our day-to-day life’s comforts and joy. -Kanchi Mahaswami

Courtesy: 'Deivathin Kural' **********************

The Tamil Version of the above Text will be available to all readers in my next Post........